Emergency room doctor Schlicher running for state House

GIG HARBOR — Emergency room doctor Nathan Schlicher announced Thursday he’ll run for a 26th District position in the state House of Representatives. Jan Angel vacated the seat when she beat Schlicher in November for Derek Kilmer’s former state Senate post. Kilmer started it all by leaving for a job in Congress.

Jesse Young, a business technology consultant from Gig Harbor, was appointed in January to replace Angel in the House.

Schlicher said he’s tired of gridlock and bickering in Olympia and would bring a common-sense approach to getting things done

“As an ER doctor, I’ve spent my life fixing problems, using resources wisely, and findings ways to do more with less,” he said.

Schlicher said state government needs someone who understands how laws affect patients and providers, not career politicians making important decisions for them.

“That’s why I’m running,” he said.

Schlicher is the associate director for TeamHealth National Patient Safety Organization, responsible for patient care quality across the 7,000-provider company. He practices emergency medicine at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma.

While in the Senate last year, he said he found millions in savings on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the state ferry system, and designed the ER is for Emergencies program that saved the state $33.6 million.

Schlicher grew up in Bremerton, graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, and received law and medicine degrees from the University of Washington.